Under the Sustainable Communities Act, ARB sets regional targets
for GHG emissions reductions from passenger vehicle use. In 2010,
ARB established these targets for 2020 and 2035 for each region covered
by one of the State's metropolitan planning organizations (MPO). ARB will periodically review and update the targets, as needed.

Each of California’s MPOs must prepare a "sustainable communities
strategy" (SCS) as an integral part of its regional transportation plan
(RTP). The SCS contains land use, housing, and transportation
strategies that, if implemented, would allow the region to meet its GHG
emission reduction targets. Once adopted by the MPO, the RTP/SCS
guides the transportation policies and investments for the
region. ARB must review the adopted SCS to confirm and accept the
MPO's determination that the SCS, if implemented, would meet the
regional GHG targets. If the combination of measures in the SCS
would not meet the regional targets, the MPO must prepare a separate
“alternative planning strategy" (APS) to meet the targets. The APS is
not a part of the RTP.

The Sustainable Communities Act also establishes incentives to
encourage local governments and developers to implement the SCS or the
APS. Developers can get relief from certain environmental review
requirements under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
if their new residential and mixed-use projects are consistent with a
region’s SCS (or APS) that meets the targets (see Cal. Public Resources
Code §§ 21155, 21155.1, 21155.2, 21159.28.).

ARB appointment of the Regional Targets Advisory Committee (RTAC),
as required under the Sustainable Communities Act, on January 23, 2009.
The RTAC's charge was to advise ARB on the factors to be
considered and methodologies to be used for establishing regional
targets. The RTAC provided its recommendation to ARB on September 29, 2009.

ARB Research to Support Sustainable Communities Strategies Implementation

ARB supports regional and local implementation of SB 375 through research. ARB's research program
includes investigation of the impacts of land use and transportation
strategies on travel behavior, GHG emissions, air pollution exposure,
equity, and health.

ARB research on policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from passenger vehicles to support implementation of the Sustainable Communities Act.

Susan
Handy, Ph.D., UC Davis, discussed the research on this set of
policies at an October 7, 2014 ARB research seminar. Video of the
seminar, the presentation slides, and other related materials are
available here.